Chapter 251: Borrowing the East Wind

In recent years, as the influence of stocks has grown among the Chinese public, many have come to the Shanghai Stock Exchange with dreams of striking it rich.

However, since the downturn of the Shanghai Composite Index in May 1992 and after being scammed, Xin Rumei had already decided to exit this line of work.

When Li Xian mentioned a business opportunity, Xin Rumei did not take it seriously. Trading halls rely on popularity and transaction volume. Only with high traffic can the transaction volume be maintained.

The annual rent for her shop is 4,500 yuan, plus various expenses and the salaries of the clerks, making her annual expenditure over 10,000 yuan.

A few clients cannot sustain this.

Though she has not been in the business for long, Xin Rumei's experience with stock traders gave her a keen eye. Li Xian, Xu Maohe, and Wang Dage, who had saved her but said nothing afterward, did not seem like big players.

"Little brother, where was your original account?" Xin Rumei asked.

Li Xian looked confused. "What account? A bank account?"

Seeing that Li Xian did not even understand the basics, Xin Rumei couldn't help but laugh. "Little brother, let me tell you. You might see many people making money in stocks, but sometimes it can be dangerous. Throwing in tens of thousands without even seeing a ripple. Here at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, how many people jump off buildings every month? Every day, someone gets rich, but also every day, someone loses everything. The stock market has risks; you should be cautious. Since we're from the same hometown, I advise you, if you want to play, start with ten or twenty thousand, go to another brokerage, and learn a bit, even if it costs some tuition."

Hearing Xin Rumei's advice, Li Xian shook his head and smiled.

Although he was hoping to make some income from the stock market this time, he had no plans to invest heavily in it in his long-term strategy.

In essence, this was just a one-time deal for him.

He had hoped that Xin Rumei's place would be quiet and if possible, he would stay here, but seeing her lack of interest, he decided not to press further.

Meanwhile, Xu Maohe looked at Xin Rumei with a deep gaze.

"Hey, if you're not doing a business worth millions, it's no wonder you got scammed into jumping off a building. Sis, the outside world is too dangerous. You should go back to your hometown and farm."

"Millions?" Xin Rumei glared at Xu Maohe. "I doubt you can even come up with a few thousand!"

She was still upset.

Xu Maohe couldn't stand the insult. Seeing the disdainful look from the woman, he pulled out a wad of cash from his bag and slapped it on the table.

"Interesting. If you can take this job, we'll even cover the rent."

Seeing the stack of blue notes in front of her, Xin Rumei was stunned.

"Really, really?"

Seeing Li Xian smile slightly and not deny it, she grabbed Li Xian's arm. "I can do it! What can I do here?"

...

On the way back to the hotel, Li Xian kept laughing at Xu Maohe, making Xu Maohe feel uncomfortable.

"What's up? Is there something on my face?" Xu Maohe, annoyed by the stare, glared at him.

Li Xian shook his head. "No, nothing on your face. But I see you're interested. What was that about? When they said they couldn't do it, you kept pushing. Do you have a crush on her?"

Xu Maohe's eyes widened. "Nonsense! I've been through many flower gardens, and every woman I've slept with has better qualities than that little girl. Why would I need to stick to her?"

Li Xian said nothing, just kept smiling.

Xu Maohe could not handle the grin, and after a while, he admitted defeat. "I've been scammed before, and she seemed a bit pitiful. I thought we should help out. It's not easy being far from home."

Li Xian shook his head helplessly.

A sharp tongue but kind-hearted.

So annoying.

...

Early the next morning, Li Xian used the hotel phone to contact all the brokerage firms he had noted down the night before. Although the conditions varied, the commission rates were mostly the same, around 0.15%.

Once he had this information, he and Xu Maohe went to see Xin Rumei.

After a detailed discussion the night before, Xin Rumei had already opened the office early and was waiting with the only two remaining brokers.

Although she was still skeptical about Xu Maohe's "million-dollar business" claim, she was not careless anymore. Together with the brokers, Xin Rumei helped Li Xian set up the stock and fund accounts. She then discussed the issue of funding.

Li Xian was quite satisfied with the environment at Minfa Brokerage. Although it was small, it was quiet enough. The good relationship between Xin Rumei and the stock exchange and the quality of the two brokers reassured him.

Considering the substantial investment required for this deal with Bao'an Group and wanting to negotiate on the commission, he asked Xin Rumei about it.

"Little brother, don't worry about it. Others charge 0.15%, but I'll charge you 0.10%."

Although she spoke confidently, Xin Rumei had her own considerations. "I just want to make enough for the rent."

Seeing Xin Rumei sneak a glance at him, Li Xian chuckled and gestured to Xu Maohe. "Xu Ge, the account is set up now. We've lost a day, so let's… get started?"

Xu Maohe grinned. "Sure!"

After a final glance at Xin Rumei, Xu Maohe and his two assistants went out to transfer the funds.

Li Xian and Wang Tiecheng drank tea in the empty office, discussed some specifics about entering the market with Xin Rumei and the two brokers, and waited for over two hours until Xu Maohe returned.

"Done?" Li Xian put down his tea cup.

"Done!" Xu Maohe answered briskly and waved to the two brokers. "Check if the money has arrived."

One of the brokers immediately picked up the phone to confirm Li Xian's account.

When he returned, the look in his eyes was slightly pink.

"Xiao Yu, did it arrive?" Xin Rumei asked.

The broker did not respond.

"Damn girl, what are you staring at? I asked if it arrived!" Seeing the usually sharp broker looking dazed, Xin Rumei pinched her arm.

"Ah, Mei Jie, it's here! Five million!"

"Ah?" Hearing this amount, Xin Rumei's legs went weak, and she collapsed onto the floor.

...

Holding back her excitement, Xin Rumei personally stayed with the big client.

But when she heard that Li Xian wanted to buy all five million worth of Yanzhong Industrial shares, she frowned.

Although she didn't understand advanced stock analysis, she knew the basics from her time in the industry.

Yanzhong Industrial's stock price had been around 9 yuan for over six months, and recently, it had risen to about 10 yuan. This showed that capital was manipulating the stock price. Even someone like Xin Rumei, who was not a pro, knew this involved significant risk. It was good if someone was investing money; it meant the stock price would rise for a while. But the downside was that you never knew where the bottom line of the manipulator was.

If you bought in and they decided to exit, you could end up trapped.

So stocks like this were highly risky, akin to gambling.

"Little brother, Yanzhong's stock is showing signs of manipulation. If you follow the uptrend, if the major investors decide to sell off and leave, your gains might be minimal."

Faced with Xin Rumei's advice, Li Xian did not explain or want to explain.

"I said to buy. Mei Jie, starting now, as long as the price doesn't exceed fifteen yuan, buy as much Yanzhong Industrial as you can!"

Watching the market trend on the outdated computer screen, Li Xian smirked.

Evil?

Yes, it's evil.

But this is just the beginning. Wait another half month and see.

That's when Yanzhong will be truly evil!

...

Bao'an Group, Securities Department Conference Room.

Li Wei held a large folder, reviewing the recent acquisition of Yanzhong shares by the group's three subsidiaries on the secondary market, and was very pleased.

"Continue buying, but keep it secret. You three departments must maintain this carefully, ensuring that the total Yanzhong shares held remains below 5%. On September 30th, we will present Yanzhong with a great gift!"